Compressed-air water-elevator.



PATENIIED AUG. 20, 1967.

. P. ALLBON.

RESSED AIR WATER ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-$190! COMP 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOB FRANK A LL/SO/V A TTOHNEYS cm. vusnmamm A:v c.

' UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

FRANK ALLISON, OF OHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

COMPRESSED-AIR WATER-ELEVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1907.

Application filed August 7, 1906. Serial No- 329,535.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK ALLIsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and-State of Tennessee, have invented an Improved Compressed-Air Water-Elevator,

of which the following is a specification.

In my invention twin chambers, or cylinders, are submerged in water, or otherwise adapted to be filled automatically with water under greater or less pressure,

and air underpressure is admitted alternately to said chambers or cylinders so as to expel the contents of one chamber as the other fills.

The novelty of my invention is embodied in the construction and arrangement of automatic valve mechanism, air cylinders and pistons slidable therein; also air pipes connecting the chambers and their passages, and an automatic device for holding one of the valves temporarily in the position into which it is thrown.

The details of construction, arrangement, and operation of parts'are as hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is in part an elevation and in part a vertical section of my improved compressed air water elevator. I 2 is a rear elevation of the water elevator.

Q and R indicate twin water chambers, or cylinders,

arranged side by side, which, in practice, will be submerged in water, or otherwise adapted to receive a supply under pressure. The chambers are provided, respectively, with bottom inlet openings controlled by valves T, T, and with outlets, which are, respectively, provided with check valves U, U, and communicate with a common discharge pipe V. The chambers Q, R, are connected by tubes q and r, respectively, with a main air cylinder E, and with this an airinlet pipe L is connected at the middle, and an air outlet or exhaust pipe S is connected with the central lower portioh of said cylinder. Within said cylinder is arranged a slide valve N of the well known D pattern, the same being adapted to slide over and control the passages q and 1' and the intervening exhaust S. For

operating, that is to say, sliding, the valve N, I employ two pistons O, O, which are connected by a rod 0 having collars or lugs 0 that engage and hold the valve equidistantly between the piston heads 0, 0. It will be seen that the position of the valve N as in Fig. 1,

allows air to pass from the inlet pipe L through the passage r into the chamber R, while the air is being exhausted from the cylinder Q through passage q, and the pipe S. Upon the main air cylinder E is arranged a supplemental, or subsidiary, and smaller air cylinder D which is provided with a valve and actuating pistons similar to the main cylinder E. That is to say, a D valve F is connected with the pistons P, P, and controls admission of air to ports G and 11 leading respectively to the left and right hand ends of the main cylinder E. The right hand end of the supplemental air air passage r of the water chamber R, at the point It;

see Fig. l. A third pipe I connects the exhaust oi the cylinder D with the exhaust pipe S at a point '5; see Fig. 1.

It will be noted that stops are arranged in the main cylinder E which limit the movement of the valve N so that the piston heads 0, O, are prevented from contact with the ends of the cylinder E, and thus air has free admission behind the piston heads through passages G, H, as required. A pipe M connects the smaller air cylinder D with the air inlet pipe L, as shown in both figures.

The valve F of the small air cylinder D is connected by a jointed rod G with the lower or shorter arm of a weighted lever A which is pivoted to a fixed bracket or arm a attached to the main cylinder E. The weight B applied to the upper end of said lever is secured by a clamp-screw and may be adjusted thereon as required.

The operation of my improved water elevator may be briefly stated as follows. Let it be supposed that the air pressure is 100 pounds and that the main valve N has just moved from right to left, as shown in Fig. 1. Then the chamber R will be filled with water and chamber Q filled with air at 100 pounds pressure, which, by rightto-lef t movement of the valve N, is returned to the compressor through suction pipe S, as indicated by arrows. The air admitted to the cylinder E by pipe L enters the chamber R through passage r, thus displacing the water through the discharge pipe V until all of the air has been exhausted from chamber Q and water has filled the said chamber through the inlet controlled by the check valve T. By the pipe connections I, J, K, it is evident that the air pressure in the left hand end of small cylinder D willbe the same as the pressure in the water chamber R, and the pressure in the right hand end of the air cylinder D will be the same as in the left hand water chamber Q. As the compressing apparatus takes air from chamber Q, the pressure in such chamber decreases and consequently the pressure in the right hand end of the small cylinder D decreases also, and the auxiliary valve F, having 100 pounds pressure on the left and a lesser pressure on the right, would move to the right it it were not held in the position shown by the weighted lever A, which is so proportioned and weighted as to overcome a difference of 100 pounds in the pressure in the respective ends of the cylinder D. The ends of the main air cylinder E being connected by ports G and H with the seat of the auxiliary valve F, and there being a central communication by pipe I from said seat to the suction or exhaust S, the air pressure on the left hand end of the main cylinder E is the same as the pressure in the left hand water chamber Q,

while the pressure in the right hand end of the eylinder E is the same as in water cylinder R, owing to the fact that full air pressure may pass from inlet pipe L through the small pipe M to the small cylinder D and thence through port H. When a vacuum of sufiicient tension has been formed in the water cylinder Q, and the right hand end of the smaller air cylinder D, to overcome the weighted lever A, the pistons P, P, of the cylinder D move to the right, carrying the slide valve F with them, and at the same time tilting the lever E from the position shown by full lines into the position shown by dotted lines, the last position being maintained by the weight until the same condition of prossures as before described occurs; or in other words, until a difference of pressure is again formed in the ends of the cylinder D sufficient to overbalance the weighted lever. The moving of the slide valve F of the cylinder D to the right reverses the pressures on the ends of the main cylinder E, and full air pressure from inlet pipe L operates' through the pipe M, small cylinder D, and left hand port G so that air pressure acts on the piston head 0, while suction is applied through the pipes S and I and port H in the space between the piston head 0 and the adjacent end of the cylinder E, and consequently the piston heads 0, 0, move to the right carrying with them the main slide valve N, thereby reversing the conditions in the water chambers Q, and R, chamber R now being put in communication with the suction pipe S and the left hand water chamber Q with the delivery pipe L. When a vacuum has been created in the chamber R, and left hand end of cylinder D sufficient to overbalance the weighted lever A, the valves will be brought back to position as shown. may be repeated indefinitely.

I claim 1. The combination, with twin water chambers or cylinders having valved inlets and outlets and valved discharge pipes, of a main air cylinder connected with said water chambers and having air inlet and exhaust, a slide valve arranged in said air cylinder and governing inlet and exhaust of air to and from the water chambers alternately, connected twin pistons which are slidable in the said air cylinder and connected with its valve for actuating it intermittently, and a small auxiliary air chamber connected with the main air cylinder and having valve and piston mechanism similarly arranged, pipes connecting the ends and exhaust of the auxiliary cylinder with the air passages between the main cylinder and the water chambers and also with the exhaust of the main cylinder, and a pivoted oscillating weighted lever, and means for connect ing it with the valve of the auxiliary air chamber, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with twin water chambers or cylinders having valve-controlled inlets and outlets for water, of a main air cylinder connected with the said water chambers and having air inlet and exhaust connections, a slidahle valve for controlling admission of air to, and exhaust of air from, the water chambers, pistons connected with said valve and slidable in the same chamber, an auxiliary air cylinder having a slidable valve and pistons similar to the main cylinder, air-induction pipes connected with the two cylinders, also pipes .T and K connecting the ends of the auxiliary cylinder with the water chambers Q and It, and a device connected with the valve of the auxiliary cylinder for temporarily locking said valve in its alternative positions, substantially as described.

FRANK ALLISON.

Thus the operation Witnesses F. Rnns Woonnono, REUBEN Brnnmosnny. 

